Oct. 10, 2004 by Heidi Thompkins

Oct. 10, 2004

by Heidi Thompkins

My country is my own now, and this land

Is my land just as much as it is yours.

The ballot feels like power in my hand.

The State might have the power to wage wars.

But voters make the democratic State.

And I from Florida might tip the scales

Of one electoral vote. I can create

Part of the ruling power, and, if it fails,

I can vote to make changes. Presidents

Are just one part of ballot space, and now

At twenty-one I wield the instruments

Of suffrage. What I must decide is how.

My country, my America, my state.

This is the privilege that makes you great.